Katherine Biek
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LEARN MOREPosted: 12:42 p.m. EST Jan 4, 2018
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is making a move to allow for more federal oversight on legal marijuana.
He's rolling back an Obama-era policy that allowed legalized marijuana to thrive in the U.S. without much federal oversight.
We're talking about the so-called Cole memo, named after then-Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole.
The 2013 memo essentially says federal prosecutors operating in states where marijuana is legal would take a more hands-off approach so long as states didn't interfere with federal priorities like preventing distribution to children and gangs.
Sessions' announcement came the same week people in California could start legally purchasing recreational marijuana.
It's the sixth state to legalize marijuana for recreational use. And more than two dozen states have medical marijuana programs.
Sessions said federal prosecutors in states where marijuana is legal will ultimately decide how aggressively to enforce federal law there.
Additional reporting from Newsy affiliate CNN.
